Posted online: Sunday, February 25, 200AHMEDABAD, FEB 24: A trip on a humble rickshaw, still the preferred mode of transport for negotiating the labyrinth of serpentine, overcrowded bylanes in cities and towns of India, may no longer be a bone-rattling ordeal. Thanks to an enterprising group of bright brains from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, rickshaw travel may be a style statement soon with facilities like music, newspapers and magazines, mineral water and even insurance for the hapless passenger thrown in for good measure.
Under a project brand named ‘Sammaan’, signifying respect for the illiterate, impoverished rickshaw-puller, an eco-friendly transport company has been set up in Patna to provide them with extra earning resources which would then be ploughed back to give them insurance, health services, education, employment and shelter. The project is one among several out-of-the-box ideas a motley group of IIM-A grads has conceptualised to convert Bihar Impoverished into Bihar Inc. An enthused CM Nitish Kumar inaugurated the project in patna.
There’s a growing number among what is undoubtedly the country’s pick of best, agile young B-brains who are actually daring to tread roads less travelled. A handful among the IIM-A’s PGP students are all set to re-design the destiny of one of the most under-developed of the BIMARU states—Bihar—as well as other lesser developed states.
Says Dr Bakul Dholakia, director, IIM-A: “It’s a novel way of getting our students involved in grassroots development. What would be really wonderful is if some of them end up becoming entrepreneurs in their own states.”
The seeds of the idea germinated following the CM’s visit to IIM-A in November. Says Vaibhav Bhamoriya, one of the students actively involved in the project: “It was during one of our coffee-table and armchair discussions after the CM’s visit that we realised that while Bihar boasted a huge intellectual capital resource, all of it was residing outside the state.”
In an attempt to widen its base, the group has roped in students from other prominent schools, including the Institute of Rural Management, Anand. But what made them choose the state with the most dubious development record? “We realised that Bihar poses a challenge of the highest order. The need for development of economy is very high as is highlighted by the general state of law and order and lack of development. There is an urgent need for intellectual and knowledge-based inputs into the enterprise for development,” argues Bhamoriya.
The group evolved a whole new approach to development based on social entrepreneurship with the aim of ensuring that the efforts and benefits arising out of the ventures “do not flow out but remain in the state itself”. Recently, the students, led by professor of marketing at IIM-A, Piyush Sinha, presented these ideas to the CM .
For this student group, Bihar isn’t just a passing fancy. Some students are even willing to set up their own enterprises in a state where few would risk their lives and investments. “We are basically looking at ideas and sectors and providing inputs to management, research and enterprise.”
Under a project brand named ‘Sammaan’, signifying respect for the illiterate, impoverished rickshaw-puller, an eco-friendly transport company has been set up in Patna to provide them with extra earning resources which would then be ploughed back to give them insurance, health services, education, employment and shelter. The project is one among several out-of-the-box ideas a motley group of IIM-A grads has conceptualised to convert Bihar Impoverished into Bihar Inc. An enthused CM Nitish Kumar inaugurated the project in patna.
There’s a growing number among what is undoubtedly the country’s pick of best, agile young B-brains who are actually daring to tread roads less travelled. A handful among the IIM-A’s PGP students are all set to re-design the destiny of one of the most under-developed of the BIMARU states—Bihar—as well as other lesser developed states.
Says Dr Bakul Dholakia, director, IIM-A: “It’s a novel way of getting our students involved in grassroots development. What would be really wonderful is if some of them end up becoming entrepreneurs in their own states.”
The seeds of the idea germinated following the CM’s visit to IIM-A in November. Says Vaibhav Bhamoriya, one of the students actively involved in the project: “It was during one of our coffee-table and armchair discussions after the CM’s visit that we realised that while Bihar boasted a huge intellectual capital resource, all of it was residing outside the state.”
In an attempt to widen its base, the group has roped in students from other prominent schools, including the Institute of Rural Management, Anand. But what made them choose the state with the most dubious development record? “We realised that Bihar poses a challenge of the highest order. The need for development of economy is very high as is highlighted by the general state of law and order and lack of development. There is an urgent need for intellectual and knowledge-based inputs into the enterprise for development,” argues Bhamoriya.
The group evolved a whole new approach to development based on social entrepreneurship with the aim of ensuring that the efforts and benefits arising out of the ventures “do not flow out but remain in the state itself”. Recently, the students, led by professor of marketing at IIM-A, Piyush Sinha, presented these ideas to the CM .
For this student group, Bihar isn’t just a passing fancy. Some students are even willing to set up their own enterprises in a state where few would risk their lives and investments. “We are basically looking at ideas and sectors and providing inputs to management, research and enterprise.”
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